An Angels Wings
by shadow kitty
Summary: [complete, paired with Tamers Game] T.K. is hurt after dropping Kari off. When he reaches the ICU, she's told that he'll pull through. Complications arise, and Kari is being threatened by the dark ocean again but this time, who is her shining knight?
1. living in my memory

An Angels Wings

It had been a lovely date, they'd gone for dinner at a little cafe he'd found last weekend, then wandered around the park, just talking and laughing. They'd agreed to call it a night when the rain had begun. She hugged herself in her pink blouse, white Capri's letting the almost non-existent breeze play around her ankles as she leaned over the railing to wave good night to him, let him know that she was home safe.

_Reeeeeeeech!_

Tires squealed loudly on the wet pavement as a car slid wildly on the road, slamming T.K.s small figure hard against the wall of Heightenview Terrace.

"Oh no, no, T.K.!" Kari raced back down the steps to his crumpled form. "Please! T.K.!" She cried, shock settling itself firmly in her mind. "You have to wake up!" T.K.s image blurred as tears flooded into her eyes.

The person in the car, aman, was talking on his cell phone to an emergency dispatch. The brown suit he was wearing looked wrinkled, as if it hadn't been properly cared for, and his voice was thick and slurred, he sounded drunk.

"Kari..."T.K. turned his head slightly, so he was looking at her. His eyes were a cloudy blue, glazed over with pain.

"I'm here Takeru, you're going to be just fine. I promise." She whispered

"Don't make promises you can't keep..." His words dissolved into a shout of pain as he tried to move his arm. She could see the blood starting to seep through the blue and yellow of his favourite shirt, _that'll be difficult to wash out after this is done... _She stopped for a second, _why such a pretense of normalcy?_

Tai, who had heard Kari scream, came down the steps to investigate. _God, if anything happened to her..._When he saw the scene laid out before him, he swore and snatched the cell phone away from the drunken man. "Hello? This Tai Yagami, I need an ambulance right now! A guy just ran into a thirteen year old boy named Takeru Takaishi." Pause "Yes, he is. . . . ."

Kari stopped listening after that, "See, Tai's calling an ambulance, you'll be fine." She said the words not only to convince T.K., but herself too. A siren sounded in the distance, Tai was still on with the dispatch.

"Have me cremated, ok?" The siren came closer, and flashing lights of blue and red accompanied it this time. "I love you Kari. . . " He said softly as he passed out in her arms.

"No, no T.K.! You'll be fine! You'll be ok!" She cried into his hair, the salty water tasted sharp on her tongue

"Step aside please." A curt voice said as strong hands pulled him from her arms, and pushed her to the side. In the time it took for Tai to gather his sister in a hug, they had T.K. on a stretcher and in the ambulance. One of the men in his blue jumpsuit turned as his patient's stretcher was secured inside the square vehicle. "Would one of you like to come?" Kari nodded and was ushered in just before it left.

While the paramedics worked around her, she reached out and took T.K.'s hand in hers. It was soaked with blood from the horrible gash on his upper arm, and freezing cold. She squeezed his hand lightly in reassurance, there wasn't any response. _He looks so fragile... so little..._ the teenage boy was easily dwarfed by the paramedics, and the white of the stretcher pad did nothing but make him seem smaller then he was. They swung around another corner; gravity pulling on everyone, Kari could feel it pushing her into her seat. _It's going to be alright..._

When they arrived at the hospital, T.K. was wheeled away to E.R.. Kari couldn't follow him there, she was ushered instead to a waiting room, mostly deserted. Clutched in her hands was his filthy bucket hat, she curled up in a ball on one of the hard green hospital chairs, and waited.

Tai arrived five minutes after the ambulance; he'd stopped to pick-up Matt and his mother, both whom followed Tai in with Mr. and Mrs. Yagami. Kari didn't give any sign of acknowledgement that they were there, she continued to stare straight ahead, her eyes rimmed red from lack of tears.

---

T.K. was moved out of E.R. that night, and into the Intensive Care Unit. Kari went straight through the door to see him, to her great relief, he was awake.

"Oh T.K., I was so worried." She cried quietly and hugged him tight.

"Ugh, it's good to see you too." She gently lowered his torso back onto the bed, and let Matt through. "Hey Matt"

"Hi T.K." there was a short silence as the two brothers took one-another in. Matt in his clean shirt and jeans, T.K. wearing a blue hospital gown under the sterile white sheets, a few stitches along his temple and a bandage wrapped around his arm. "T.K. ,I'm going to drown you when you get out of this bed." The older boy managed, grinning.

T.K. returned the smile. "Ok, the water better be warm though."

His mother, and Matt made arrangements to stay the night with him, and after a few hours, Kari's parents repented and let her stay the night as well. Matt dozed off in the chair across the room, while his mother fell asleep not long after on one side of T.K.'s bed. Kari moved one of the softer chairs over, pulling down the blue pad in front of her, she gently tucked her small hand into his. Relaxing, and using a small portion of the matress as a pillow.

---

During the night, her eyes fluttered open slightly, a flat green line greeted her, there was a relentless ringing... Somewhere in the back of her mind, someone screamed. People in blue smocks were everywhere...a familiar voice lifted her away from T.K., and the last clear thing she could remember was being placed in her warm bed at home. . .

---

_What do you do when your best friend goes someday, somebody takes their life away; don't wanna wake up Monday, morning._

Karis awoke to her alarm clock, as usual. _What's going on, wasn't I at the hospital? No, that was a horrible, horrible dream...It's monday... school... getup..._Kari sighed, and crawled out of bed.

"Hi Mom."

"Morning dear."

She ate her breakfast, ran a comb through her hair and pinned it up with her traditional barrettes, then left the apartment. A strange feeling of intense nausea washing over her as she turned the final corner coming down the stairs, someone had run into the building the night before. Kari shook her head. _It wasn't real._

She turned away and took a longer route to school, which put her entering the yard as the warning bell sounded.

Miyako found her as everyone was pushing to get through the main door. "Hi Kari."

"Hey Miyako, where's T.K.?"

"I don't know, haven't seen him this morning. You look tired" She commented. They passed through the main hall, turning up the stairs and away from the elementary.

"I had an awful nightmare, didn't get a lot of real sleep, that's all." She smiled. "Dreams aren't real, right?"

"Yeah" The bell rang, and they all went to their homerooms. Dr. Matsuda had just started to tell them about a new project when an announcement came over the P.A. system. the students slowly stopped their chatter, waiting respectfully for their assistant principal to finish speaking.

"Attention all students, and staff." There was a slight pause as the final few stopped rustling coats and shoes. "Late last night, a student was taken from our midst by a drunk driver. His name was Takeru Takaishi."

Kari stared dumb-struck at the speaker. "The name of the driver is not available at this point in time, but a proud service will be held Wednesday, at the church on 52nd street. All are welcome to attend, that is all."

"No. . . ." whispered Kari, she collapsed onto her desk, crying quietly. Davis and the others in her homeroom class could do nothing but watch.

_and now are you supposed to deal with everything you gotta do, when you can barely believe it's true; don't wanna wake up Monday, morning_

Throughout the day T.K. was all she could think about. Nothing reached her, she knew that it probably would have been better if she had just gone home, but all she was doing at that point was functioning. _I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye... he looked like he was going to be fine..._ she remembered a small clip of someone's voice in her nightmare.

_Matt was in his regular green jacket, his jeans level with her nose as her head rested comfortably on the hospital bed. "What's going on? Where are you taking him? What's wrong?"_

_Another voice, not raised in pitch by panic answered him. "Internal bleeding, we didn't think it would be a problem, we're going to drain it."_

_The tension in the room went up drastically, "He'll be alright though...?"_

_---_

At lunch she sat alone under a large shady tree, hunched in a ball, not even touching her food. "T.K.," she whispered.

_And missing you is something that I never thought I had to do, you were always there I was there for you too; don't wanna wake up Monday, morning_

Later that night, she was watching the news; a new theft had been committed, and a serial killer was still evading police. Ever present, T.k. floated back into her mind.

_Of all the evil souls that do survive, how could this world take such a beautiful life? Don't wanna wake up Monday, morning_

She turned off the TV and walked down the hall to her room, trying not to think about it, the attempt was useless and only made it hurt more. _If nothing had happened, T.K. would be walking up the apartment stairs and ringing the door right now to take me to a movie..._ She knew it wouldn't happen, there was a whole school that would testify that they had heard the announcement that morning...

The door bell rang. Kari stopped dead, _it's not possible..._ she ran down the hall to answer the door. Hope etched plainly on her face. "T.K.?"

"No, I'm sorry." It was Ken, Kari hung her head. "Would you like to talk about it?"

She nodded, grabbing her jacket and letting Ken lead her to the park. "It's going to be so different without T.K... what are we gong to do in the digital world? It's not... right..."

_Something's coming over me I'll never be the same, now that this same world that brought you in has come and take you away,_

Before she left, Ken gave her a small, comforting hug. "If anything ever goes wrong, you can always find me to talk about it with you."

"Hm kay" She sighed; and he turned to leave. "Ken?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you, for understanding."

"No problem" He smiled.

Kari pushed all her thoughts away until she was home in her bed. She was restless for a long time, rolling over, changing position, never comfortable. Finally, she relented and began to drift off... After a moment, a bright light grew above her bed, T.K.'s head and torso emerging from the center; followed by a pair of beautiful, brilliant, and huge, snow white wings.

"Kari," he said softly, "It was just, my time." He reached down and gently dried her tears.

"T.K." She sighed, and smiled for the first time since that morning. He carefully lowered himself down, and let his lips brush hers before holding her small body in a tight hug.

Once their lips had parted, he whispered softly in her ear, "Go to sleep, Kari, I love you. . ."

'_an if there is a way that you can hear me when I pray_

She closed her eyes, relishing the kiss and the embrace. "I love you too, T.K...." Kari sighed before slipping into a deep sleep.

"You'll be just fine... " He kissed her forehead again lightly, and vanished in a cloud of softly falling feathers.

When Kari awoke the next morning, she remembered her visit from T.K.. Smiling, she got dressed and tucked a feather into her pocket. Then headed to the kitchen, looking like an angel herself, and knowing that everything would turnout right...

_...when I wake up Monday, morning_

_---_

s/k: The song used is Monday Morning by Prozzak, they are quite brilliant but I do not own them in any way, shape or form


	2. of all the evil souls

An Angels Wings

Three days had passed since the accident, and no one wanted to talk about it; especially not Kari. Sure she remembered the visit, and the reason T.k. had come and seen her, but that didn't stop it from hurting.

"Kari?" Miyako asked tentatively, her friend had seemed fine the day after the accident, like she'd accepted it. However Miyako had decided quite firmly that accepting did not mean she was all right.

"Pardon? Oh, yes?" Kari answered, seeming to fall back to earth with an unpleasant thump.

"I was just wondering what we were going to do about our project for homeroom, what should we choose as a topic?"

"I don't know, just anything I suppose."

_That's the problem_, Miyako thought to herself, _she's too passive, to compliant. Almost like there's nothing that interests her anymore. It's not like her… _The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. The two girls separated, and went home, both deep in thought.

---

Matt left the studio that day alone, as he had since his brothers death. It wasn't like him not to be social; he didn't even talk to the other digidestined much anymore. He was like a shadow, a shadow that drifted across the walls silently, not talking, not listening, not seeing. Just… existing.

He got home, opened the door, and went straight to his room. Where he flopped down indifferently on the bed. The phone had been unplugged ages ago, and his laptop hadn't seen daylight, or light of any origin for a few days either.

He was a shadow.

---

Kari had arrived home only to find Ken waiting for her at her door, his expression unreadable as he leant casually on the white-washed wall of the building.

"Oh, hi Ken." She said quietly.

"Hey." He replied.

They stood in silence for a few moments. Kari motioned towards her door. "If you'd like, you could come in, I suppose."

Ken nodded, and stepped away from the apartment door, allowing Kari to open it. He motioned for her to go through first, watching her hang up her coat before he said anything. "What are you and Miyako doing for your homeroom project?"

Kari closed the door behind them, and kicked off her shoes before answering. "She's choosing, I really couldn't care less about the politics of oil."

"Ah, I see." Once again there was an uncomfortable silence, lasting longer then the first. "Kari, are you okey?" He realized to late what a stupid, stupid thing to say that had been,

She looked up at him like he truly was a moron, her hurt glare piercing. And expression he had never seen sat angrily on her normally content features. "Ken, my boyfriend was just killed by a drunk driver in a car, that car squished him like a bug, and I watched it happen. Do you have any idea how that feels? You know what the worst part is though? There was nothing I could do about it; I couldn't do anything to help him. For that alone I feel like a piece of crap, but to add on to the reality that I can't stop thinking about him, I loved him Ken, and there is absolutely no way I'll ever be able to see him again. Watch him kick a soccer ball, see him laugh, Patamon is going to be destroyed when he finds out." She stopped and took a breath.

"On that topic, have you seen Matt lately? He a shadow Ken, a shell. T.K.'s not here, and that alone would be hard to handle for Matt, but the additional bit that the ass hole driving his car didn't even get a scratch? Matt has not only not spoken to anyone; he's also shut himself in his apartment. I asked Izzy yesterday, he won't answer the phone, or the door. He doesn't talk to anyone in his band unless he has to, and even then it's minimal. His group members are worried about their lead singer because he's leaving rehearsal early.

"So to answer your question, no. I am not 'okey'. So fuck you and your stupid questions!"

Ken stared at her for a minute, completely shocked. He shook his head to snap out of it. "Kari, you need to let him go eventually. It's not your fault, you can't keep replaying the scenario with little alterations over and over again. It won't change."

"You think I don't know that Ichijouji?! Why the hell else would I be so upset!?!" Without another word to him, she stormed off down the hall to her room, slamming the door as she entered.

"Well, you've certainly done it this time Ken." Tai muttered, he'd been listening from outside the apartment door. Kari hadn't closed it properly.

Ken dropped his gaze to his shoes, hiding the tears forming in his eyes from the sudden hurt he hadn't expected to come his way. _Kari doesn't yell, and yet somehow I've managed to become the first target… that was so dumb Ichijouji, she was completely right to scream at you. _"I didn't… mean to… I wanted to help… Tai."

The older boy nodded. "I know, go home. I'll see if I can talk to her." Tai politely 'didn't notice' Ken running his sleeve over his face as he exited.

_Never win first place, I don't support the team. I can't take direction and my socks are never clean_

Kari left her Science class the next day absolutely miserable. She knew that she hadn't done well on the test, and was furious at herself for not being able to concentrate. _When I get that test back I'll be even more unhappy because then I'll really know I failed!_

"Kari?" Davis tapped her shoulder as they headed to gym. "You okey? It looked like you were about to kill something in there."

She breathed in deeply before answering, using every last shred of self- control to not fling her hatred of the world at him like she had Ken last night. It seemed to her she wanted to do that more and more lately. "I think I'm fine Davis, why?" She asked coolly.

_Teachers dated me, my parents hated me._

He sighed, adjusting his goggles on his head. "I dunno, ever since T.k.. you've sort of faded in and out. Like in science for example, you began to flicker, almost like you were an image on a T.V. with really bad reception."

Kari glared at him fleetingly, he winced. "Don't scare me right now Davis that only happened once when I was being pulled into th-" She stopped suddenly, causing the person behind her to squish her against a row of lockers as they continued past. Her eyes misted. "Oh no." Then she just disappeared, same as turning a light bulb on and off.

The next thing Kari knew was that she was standing in the middle of the beach at the dark ocean. Scubamon poured from the water to surround her, ripping off her backpack and knocking her books from her arms. _No…this isn't happening! T.k.! Help! _They leaped at her, all trying to drag the frail girl into the ocean, _can't I do anything right!? God, help! T.K.! T.K.! _She fought like some wild creature, twisting, biting, clawing, kicking, slashing, and punching everything in a vain attempt to escape.

_I was always in a fight 'cuz I, can't do nothin right._

"Kari!" Davis gasped; no one else in the hall seemed to notice that a teen, backpack and all, had just disappeared in the middle of the school. "Ken!" He whispered, "Ken knows about this stuff!" He dashed off to Dr. Kingston's class, hoping to catch the other boy before he left.

"Ken!"

Ken turned, Davis plowing into him. Both boys hit the linoleum flooring with a painful crash. "Ow." Ken grunted.

"Ow." Davis confirmed.

"What was this urgent?" Ken asked as he stood, helping Davis to his feet as well.

"Kari." He panted, out of breath from running.

Ken nearly dropped his math textbook and calculator. "What? What happened?"

"She… she was flickering in science. I didn't… think anything of it until we were out in the hall… then she just sort of disappeared." He swallowed, and managed to continue in full sentences. "I think they got her, I think she's in the dark ocean!"

Ken cursed to himself out of fear and frustration. Cold dread beginning to build in his center. "Stall that new gym teacher as long as you can from taking attendance, I need to get to the computer lab. If you run into any of the others, tell them what's happened, got it?"

Davis nodded. Ken bolted.

---

When Ken reached the computer lab (which was at the opposite end of the school) he immediately dropped his stuff by a computer, whipping out his black D3 in the process. _I am the luckiest boy on the planet that no one is in here right now…_ The blank monitor reflected his image, for a second, he thought it was the Digimon Emperor looking back at him. _You're about to go back there, and this is what you think about?! I am not that person!_

_Every day I fight a war against the mirror, I can't take the person staring back at me… I'm a hazard to myself._

Miyako burst through the door, as he was about to open the portal. "I… heard… about… Kari." She gasped. "I'm coming… with you." She let her blue and black backpack fall off her shoulders and land on the floor beside his. Standing up straight and daring him to challenge her.

"You might not be able to cross." He said instantly

"T.K. could do it, I can." They both froze in place, eyes meeting, then flicking away as she realized what she'd said. "I'm coming."

_I don't have time for this! _Ken gave in with: "Fine, grab my shirt or something; and don't let go!"

She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. "Go."

"Ocean port, open!" The world turned upside down as the pair was sucked into the computer, Miyako clinging on for everything she was worth. _It won't be to late, it can't be to late!_ Ken though to himself over and over. _She'll be okey, we'll get to her fast enough!_

They landed with a jolt on the sand both slightly confused and disoriented in the black, white and grey environment, Ken recovered first, pulling Miyako to her feet. "This… is the dark ocean…?" She whispered. "It's so devoid of… live… of colour…"

Ken nodded, his head going back and forth trying to see anything in the slight mist. "Yes, I know, can you see anything?"

She look around as well, finally saying: "There, there's something a ways to my right."

Ken looked, trusting her eyes as he still couldn't see anything. They began to run down the beach, matching each other stride for stride. There was a comforting bond that settled between them with this synchronization, something they both came to the conclusion was needed when they were so alone, and so scared.

---

Kari struggled in vain, knowing that if she ignored the thoughts coming from one half of her mind, maybe she could get away, postpone the inevitable, be safe. "Help!" She managed to scream, even if by all rights, she knew that no one was supposed to be there, no one could help her.

_Calm down Hikari… _

_Give in to yourself…_

_Come with us…_

_That's why you're here…_

_Come home…_

"NO!" She screamed again. "I won't!"

_Don't let me get me. I'm my own worst enemy, it's'bout what you wouldn't know yourself._

A thought itched at the back of Ken's mind, something he didn't like and couldn't quite place his finger on. Black, and vile. It lurked on the edge of his thoughts, trying to distract him. _Let me out… I am a part of you… you cannot discard me… so live me, be me! _Ken stumbled, losing step with Miyako, _No! I will have nothing more to do with you!_

_So irritating. Don't wanna be my friend no more, I wanna be somebody else._

Kari was now pinned flat against the sand, she couldn't move, was having a hard time breathing. All of the Scubamon seemed to have found a way to weigh her down, and there wasn't anything she could do. _I don't want to be here! Make someone else go through this! I've done enough! I want to be some other normal kid! I've done enough!_

_I wanna be somebody else._

Ken and Miyako reached the object that Miyako had glimpsed, horrified to discover that it was just a literal mob of Scubamon piled upon one-another, always moving, ever shifting. A muffled scream came from it, Miyako had to think a second before realizing what it was.

"Oh God!" She cried, "Kari's under there!" A few of the ugly digimon turned at her shriek.

Ken grabbed the one straying closest to the pair, it's feet-fins brushing the sand as he hauled it up by it's thin ear webbing. "What's going on!?"

The little thing cowered under his glare. "Hikari!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miyako cried, stress beginning to show.

"She came to us! She brought herself here! She's ours and you have no power here!" Ken glared furiously at the little creature.

"I practically made this place! You are the one who is inferior in this situation!" He yelled. Miyako took a step back, Ken didn't yell. He was always the one who seemed to understand the problem fastest, find a way to fix it, even when the rest of them were terrified and couldn't think straight, he did. To see his emotions displayed so furiously scared her.

"Ken…" She whispered.

He either didn't hear or ignored her, pushing the Scubamon away. _I can fix this… there is a way…_ he watched the movement of the mob; they were inching towards the ocean steadily. _Ken… help us… you were the one who came here before any other… this place is a part of you… help us…_

Miyako could only watch in perplexed horror as Ken twitched, staring at the pile of digimon, tense, oblivious, hard. Everything about him cold and calculating. _What's happening here that I can't see? Why can't I do anything…?_

Kari was starting to fade, something was pressing on her lungs and she couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't hear... Memories began to replay in front of her, swaying, changing

_"Kari! C'mere!" T.K. called across the field, the digidestined had all gathered to play soccer in a park near Odiaba elementary. The sun caught his hair and turned it a transparent glowing gold. A halo of light around his head_

Snap

_A voice was shouting, it sounded like…some one she knew once. "I care too much about you to give you up without a fight!" _

Snap

Bang!_ She hit the lockers, the wind knocked out of her. A new voice sneered, "You should learn not to stand up for the little people, you're not cut out for the job." _

Snap

_"Kari! Why is your eye black?" _

_"I just got the wrong person annoyed at me, don't worry mom." _

_"What? What do you mean?" _

"_It's alright mom, there's nothing to worry about, it won't happen again."_

Snap

_Whispers echoing around her, she couldn't tell from where. "She's never going to be anything special."_

"_It's not like she's beautiful or anything."_

"_So nice, such a teachers pet."_

"_I'll bet that's just a front and she's really some horrible slut."_

"_Yeah! I heard…"_

_Elle told me, you'll be a pop star. All you have to change, is everything you are. Tired of being compared, to damn Brittany Spears. She's so pretty, that just ain't me._

Her head began to pound from lack of oxygen; the first thing her muddled thoughts came to was that she'd need a Tylenol later. _You should be more worried about your current problem, not how to fix it if you get home!_ Half of her brain pointed out. _I'm not going to get out of this one, so why worry? I can't move I can't breath; I don't even want to be here…_

_Doctor, doctor won't you please prescribe me something, a day in the life of some one else! 'Cuz I'm a hazard to myself._

With an incredible amount of effort Ken thrust aside the thoughts lurking around him. He moved to action so fast that Miyako gave a little yelp of surprise before she gathered herself and tried to help. He was throwing them off the main pile, grabbing ears, feet, anything he could see in his direct line of vision. He'd dispatched of about five before they started playing with his thoughts.

_Ken, you came back to us…_

_It's good to see you again Ken…_

_Help us with our job Ken…_

_You know you can, and part of you wants to…_

Trying to ignore it, he began pulling more of the Scubamon off of Kari. The vile, black thing at the edge of his consciousness expanding, he still didn't know what it was exactly, only that it had no good intentions, that it had been the part of him that created the Digimon Emperor.

_Don't let me get me. I'm my own worst enemy, it's'bout what you wouldn't know yourself. So irritating, don't wanna be my friend no more, I wanna be somebody else._

Kari's eyes were slightly closed; she was passing in and out of conciseness. It was getting lighter though, from a complete black out, it was a slightly lighter gray. _I want to go home._

_Don't let me get me. I'm my own worst enemy, it's'bout what you wouldn't know yourself. So irritating, don't wanna be my friend no more, I wanna be somebody else… wanna be somebody else._

Miyako was beside him now, pulling as many of them away as possible. Most of the Scubamon came back after they were thrown off though, making the task almost impossible. Karis' hand was lying free of the Scubamon, her skin ghostly pale, fingers curled weakly.

_Doctor, doctor won't you please prescribe me something? A day in the life of some one else… don't let me get me._

Thoughts bounced off the confinements of Ken's mind, making his head hurt, making it more difficult to ignore the Scubamon, mor difficult to think clearly. _If T.k. were here, he'd probably come just short of killing me if I let them get Kari._ He did a mental double take, _if T.k. were here, this probably wouldn't be happening. _

_I'm a hazard to myself. Don't let me get me, I'm my own worst enemy, it's'bout what you wouldn't know yourself._

Kari slowly stopped struggling, even in her mind she'd began to accept it. _No one's here, I'm going to die, or something worse… _She closed her eyes a moment, trying to take a calming breath, but there were to many Scubamon on top of her. _I wish T.K. were here, with Tai, and Miyako, and Ken...all of them... they would never let me go… _Finally, one interesting thought snagged what little attention she had left. _How did they get me here… ? It must be my fault too…_

_So irritating, don't want to be my friend no more, I wanna be somebody else. I'm a hazard to myself._

Miyako was on the verge of losing it, they seemed to be making no difference what so ever, and they were tiring. She couldn't keep going on forever, they would have to rest, there were so many of those awful little digimon… both digiestined knew they were in trouble.

"Ken, this isn't, working!" She gasped between ripping off more Scubamon.

"Well, do you have, a better idea?!" He retorted.

Miyako eyed Karis hand. "Yes…"

_Don't let me get me, 'm my own worst enemy, it's'bout what you wouldn't know yourself._

Through the fog that was suffocating her, Kari thought she felt something grasp her wrist. _We're probably at the surf now, they're getting ready to drag me in properly. I don't want this to end… I want to live…_ The thing at her wrist jerked suddenly, sending the top-most Scubamon tumbling off the pile.

"It's working!"

"Again!"

It pulled, now she was breathing with less trouble. More of the vile creatures fell to the sand, dazed.

"Once more!"

She was pulled completely free this time, gray light assaulted her eyes. Weakly, she brought up her free arm to shade them.

"Kari! You're okey!" Miyako pulled her friend to her feet.

"What?"

Ken grinned broadly, then realized a huge problem. The first Scubamon that had fallen were gathering, standing in a circle around them like hungry wolves. _Now we are in the real fire. _"How do we get back?"

_It's bad, it's so bad... don't irritate me._

A fuzzy white light grew almost instantly in front of them. The group raised arms and hands to shade their eyes, Miyako gripped Kens shoulder, and her wrapped an arm protectively around Karis waist.

T.K. faded into solid existence from the light, it was an open portal, Ken could see data flashing behind the blonde-haired boy. _Holy… I didn't know that was possible…_

T.K. came forward enough to pull his girlfriend into his arms, holding her tightly and burying his face in her hair. The couple just stood like that for a moment, until T.K. brought his eyes up to meet Kens. "Will you watch her, look after her, please?" His voice was strained, tight.

Ken nodded, "I will."

T.K. moved his hand up to her chin and gently brought her face up to look at him. "Don't do this to yourself Kari… please… I can't just watch you hurt yourself…" He murmured, her eyes were over flowing with tears.

"I'll stay here, or go with you – "

He laughed quietly and shook his head, kissing her forehead. "I'm a memory, imprinted here from the last time. I'm a memory imprinted a thousand places from what I remember from my life, it's not possible for you to come. I'm dead…" She closed her eyes and took in a sharp breath, hearing him say it hurt more then she could have imagined. "You need to go home…"

She nodded as best she could, and let him guide her towards the streaming data. "T.K.?"

"Yes?" He pulled her back to him again.

She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, she was so tired…"Can we get rid of them? At all?"

T.K. smiled softly. "No, they are part of this place. That can't be changed…" His gaze fell over Ken. "I can help you though." Ken stiffened visibly. "There's something you want to leave here."

The other boy nodded slowly. "That can't be done, short of some sort of defiance of natural laws."

T.K. smirked good-naturedly. "Well, I'm no longer natural." He reached out and touched a finger to Kens forehead, drawing away a small, light-consuming black sphere. He held it out to his friend. "Do what you want with it, you can leave it here if you like." He wrapped both arms around Kari again, relishing the contact.

Ken looked at the small sphere long and hard, it had a strong resemblance to the black spores. He shuddered. In one smooth, defiant motion he hurled it into the forest that ran along the ocean, above the sand. Watching it disappear into the trees. "Thank you."

T.K. nodded, bending his head to talk to Kari again. "No more isolation anymore. It's dangerous, Ken can't watch you all the time, and I cannot keep appearing. The dead are supposed to stay dead." He felt her grip around his neck tighten. He winced, _let me go… Kari… _He hugged her tightly back, kissing her face lightly. Firmly, he distangled her hands from his hair and around his neck, passing her to Ken with a pained expression on his face. She fell unconscious as Ken caught her fragile form.

"Take her home, and don't you dare let her go to school tomorrow." The sandy haired boy warned, his features taunt across his face.

Ken and Miyako nodded. "We promise." T.k. brought them through the portal, leaving them in Tai's room and fading away similar to a rainbow, past its glory.

Miyako helped Ken lay Kari on the lower bunk, and then wrapped a blanket around her. The pair went out to the living room, collapsing on the couch. They sat in a suffocating silence until Ken sighed, "I'm not sure this will actually have a happy ending of any sort." He whispered.

_Don't wanna be my friend no more, I wanna be somebody else…_


	3. waiting for my angel

_From the last chapter…  
_  
Miyako helped Ken lay Kari on the lower bunk, and then wrapped a blanket around her. The pair went out to the living room, collapsing on the couch. They sat in a suffocating silence until Ken sighed, "I'm not sure this will actually have a happy ending of any sort." He whispered.

  
An Angels Wings 

Miyako nodded, her eyes filling with tears behind her glasses. There was another silence before she voiced the fear hiding at the back of her head. "You were terrifying there, so… calculating, cold… I thought…" She stopped herself, averting her eyes to watch her fingers intertwine themselves again, and again…

"What?" He asked, wrapping his hand over her fingers.

"I though for a moment I was looking at the Digimon Emperor again…" She glanced up long enough to see his face, he looked like he'd been slapped. She watched their hands again, saw his grip tighten over her hands.

He swallowed. "I am not that person anymore. I left that in the dark ocean, and I will never, never be like that again."

She raised her eyes to look at him, they were still flooded with tears. He gently pulled off her glasses, dabbing at the wetness with the sleeve of his red shirt. "I'm just Ken Ichijouji now, Miya." He pulled her into a hug, letting her curl up into him like a small child. "It'll be ok."

---

Matt rolled over, pulling the bed covers around him into an even more tangled mess of cloth. He was securely cocooned, like some sort of very large caterpillar, thinking that if he waited long enough, he would turn into a butterfly and all the sadness of the world would evaporate. The blinds on the window were closed, it was close to four and it seemed that the sun was shining through only to spite the man hidden in his bed.

Grudgingly, he rolled off the mattress and landed on his feet on the carpeting. _Why bother…? _He asked himself. _The band's rehearsing at 5:30, I should at least shower and eat something before then. It would be good to drink something too… _his thoughts came around in the never-ending circle. _Why bother… ?_

---

Kari had awoken to the sight of the bottom of her brothers' old bunk bed, she was even vaguely content for a while before she started to process things again. _How come I'm not in my bed? Oh… _She couldn't stop herself from reviewing her day, from the science test to T.K., all over, and over again. Specific scenes replaying more then others; like when T.K. had made her let him go. That hurt, she could almost feel his fingers gently untangling her own from his hair. She rolled onto her side, staring at the wall with tears suddenly in her eyes. _I don't want to even think anymore! _The drops of salt water began rolling down her cheeks. _I want it to stop…_

After almost an hour of staring silently at the wall, her face, the pillow, and her shirt sleeve were thoroughly soaked. _Meiko's going to be in my laundry basket again…_ she smiled fleetingly, _she'll want all the salt… _Finally, she forced herself to sit on the edge of the bed. Drying her eyes again with her other sleeve, she cast her gaze around the room. _Everything is so… washed, grey… _she let her head hang, _like my perspective of life…_

Hikari stood up, her eyes still watching her white socks. She wandered out of her brothers room and into her room next door, throwing her sand and tear covered shirt into the laundry and putting on a light blue blouse over a white tank top. Without really thinking, she left the apartment, completely oblivious of Miyako and Ken asleep on the couch, Miyako curled into Kens arms.

She walked down the grey concrete stairs, letting her feet take her wherever the hell they wanted to, it wasn't like she cared. Over 45 minutes later, as the sun was starting to settle low in the west, she found herself sitting alone on a bench in the park. It was quiet, the large majority of people were eating dinner, the couples and families with small children wouldn't emerge until later.

_I'll go for miles… till I find you…_

She realized slowly as she traced her steps back to a few of the places she'd wandered, _I was looking for him…_ She stared at the grass in complete silence. She sighed quietly, eyes now idly following a bird hoping over the green ground in search of a worm. _He wanted me to let go, to leave him… _it had been bothering her since she'd woken up, _why? What's left here? _Immediately she realized what a dumb question that was. _The rest of school, then probably university, then some career… I don't know if I want that anymore though, it seems so… futile. _Another sigh escaped her lips. _It's not just his choice! _She raged silently, some small part of her surprised and ashamed that she was angry at him. _I'm not some little kid, I can make my own choices!_

_You say you want to leave me… but you can't choose…_

_I hate you… you stupid, stupid boy. You idiot… you innocent moron… I love you…_ As quickly as it had come over her, the anger dissipated, leaving her feeling empty and numb. _Why does he have this effect on me? _She bit her lip, running her teeth over it, letting the pain become something that forced her to stay connected to the real world. Then she got the scare of her life.

_Hikari…_

She sat up completely straight. _I'm not going back there, _despite this, her arms flickered. _No! I'm not! Leave me alone! _She stood up fast, feeling the blood rush from her head. _T.K. did everything he could to get me out of there, I am _not_ even going to give any of this a second thought! _Then something else occurred to her. _If I went back… what if he came…_ she paused, _am I willing to do that? To risk everything I could possibly imagine to see him again? _Immediately, part of her answered no, that that was a horribly stupid idea, it shouldn't have even come to her. At the same time, another part answered, _yes, you would, you're just scared. Isn't love supposed to cross every boundary? _

_I've gone through pain…_

"Kari!"

She turned, she hadn't thought anyone would bother her here, she was at the center of the park, almost completely surrounded by trees and other greenery. _What do they want? I don't need someone prodding me for answers! _She was a little surprised to see Izzy standing on the other side of a bush to her right, his briefcase hanging from his hand.

"Hi." He said, smiling.

"Hey." She answered, not making any move to go see him.

"Haven't seen you in a while," He'd noticed her obvious want for him to keep going, trying to start a conversation anyway. He'd heard about T.K. that day at lunch from Joe.

She nodded.

Izzy set his mouth in a straight line, eyeing the hedge, _Tai would kill me if I didn't at least try…_ he began the ungainly process of attempting to get through the thick foliage. Kari raised an eyebrow, then realized how cruel that must look to him. _What's wrong with me? I should at least be polite to Izzy, I was never like this – before._ She set herself a goal, _I'm going to act perfectly freaking normal, even if it does me the grace of death. _

_Every day and night… I feel my mind is going insane… something I can't fight…_

He finished fighting his way through, pulling his foot out last. He looked up in time to see Kari force her annoyed expression away, and arrange her face into a dumb, blank stare. _Well, _he thought, _better a blank stare then an openly hostile glare. _He strode over to the bench, setting his briefcase down beside him, then motioned for her to sit down as well.

They sat in silence until Izzy sighed. "Look, I figure I should at least try to help in some way, but frankly; I don't know what's going through your head at all. I'm no psychologist." He paused, carefully choosing his next words. "There are a lot of reasons for a person to quit when they've suffered an emotional blow, but I know that there are also a lot or reasons to keep going. So… maybe quitting right now, even though I would imagine it feels like the world has sufficiently burned down around you, isn't something you want to do."

Kari didn't say anything. After another silence, though this one infinitely less hostile then the last, Izzy stood and picked up his briefcase. He chose to leave by the path this time. As he reached the mouth, he turned around briefly. "I – " He stopped, _maybe it's just better to leave…_ turning around again, he left.

Kari raised her head and watched him as he walked away, disappearing around the corner. She closed her eyes against more tears.

_Don't leave me… don't leave me…_

Ken woke first, shifting slightly on the soft cream coloured couch. Somewhere behind him, he heard a key fidgeting in a lock, then a door opening. Tai kicked off his shoes and hung up his coat. _Wonder if Kari's home? Mind you, I don't know where else she would have gone… _"Hello? Kari? Are you home?" Ms. Yagami had gone to a dinner with some of her friends that night, leaving the apartment to her family, and her kids to her husbands cooking.

"In here Tai." Ken called quietly, not wanting to wake Miyako.

The older boy came around the corner, his brown hair as always sticking up at every possible. "Ken? No offense, but what are you doing here?"

"Kari was pulled into the dark ocean just after lunch today, Miyako and I went in after her." He caught sight of Tai's terrified expression. "No, don't worry, she's fine. She's asleep in your room."

Tai started breathing again. "Ok… I'm going to go check on her." He nodded slowly. "You want anything to drink? Munch on?"

Ken shook his head. "It's ok. Going to that place really takes away your appetite."

Tai nodded again, starting down the hall, his facial expression changing and shifting with worry.

_A blank expression… covering your face…_

At the park, with the sun settling low, Kari abandoned her bench and started to walk home. Feeling a little better if anything from the one-way conversation she and Izzy had had. _He tried, he meant well, s_he told herself, _who am I to judge and decide anything? _She came to the concrete stairs, avoiding looking at the skid marks the cars tires had made, and the dent in the wall that hadn't been fixed yet. _Will it ever really stop hurting? _As she came to their level, she heard raised voices coming from behind one of the doors. _Probably the little kid next door, with my luck. _

As she came to her door, the sun had finally started to set, and she was surprised to find that the argument was taking place behind her door. Confused, she opened it and walked quietly in.

"How could you _not _notice she was gone?!"

"Tai, calm down, she's probably fine. There's no way she'd let herself go back – "

"That's not the point Ichijouji! You were the one who brought her back! Can't you keep track of one person for a few hours?!"

"Tai, it's not his fault!"

"You're not part of this right now!"

"It's as much 'my fault' as it is his, so if you're going to yell at one of us, you're yelling at the other too!"

"Will you let me finish?!"

"No! You lost her again!"

Kari narrowed her eyes. _This is the last thing I need. _"Tai, shut up!" She cried as she walked into the living room. "I left of my own accord and if it weren't for these two, I wouldn't be here at all!" Tai and the others fell silent, Tai receiving the worst shock when he saw his sisters' angry expression. "I don't need to be looked after, and I'm a person, not some object that someone misplaced! Ken and Miyako are not my keepers!" She finished with a spectacular glare at him. "Maybe I should have just stayed at the park, it was a far more comfortable atmosphere then 'home'."

_I'm looking for directions… for out of this place…_

Tai could only watch as his little sister strode to her room and closed the door with a loud bang, completely ignoring them. He turned slowly back to Ken and Miyako. "Gomen, I – " He didn't look at them. "You can go if you like."

Ken took Miyako's hand, leading her out of the Yagami's apartment and walking her home.

Tai collapsed onto the couch that they had occupied not long before, _why did I do that? There was no reason to yell at them… _He ran his hands over his face, pressing his forehead in frustration. _This whole thing was my fault, it should have at least crossed my mind that there was a threat. I failed and I took it out on them… _

---

After he had dropped Miyako off, Ken walked to the train station on his own in silence, lost in his thoughts. _Tai was partially right to yell at me, I was responsible for her. _He clenched his fists, remembering a conversation he'd had with Davis a while ago.

They were walking to Miyako's family store for milkshakes, most of the group ahead of them. He and Davis had never really been close, but they were so different that he was positive they'd have nothing in common. Despite this, he'd still chosen to walk with the exuberant boy.

"_Why do you chase her if she's going out with T.K.?" Ken had asked, he had to admit, he was curious. _

_Davis glanced ahead, making sure that the pair couldn't hear him. "I guess I just do. She wasn't dating T.K. when I first met her, they were just friends. Close friends, but friends. She's smart, and funny, and… really beautiful." He sighed, readjusting his goggles. _

_Ken nodded. _Same reasons, are we really very different at all? _He shook his head a little, _we're very different in personality, and yet… there she is… _He brought his gaze up to watch her, laughing at something so hard she was stumbling a little down the sidewalk, T.K. caught her arms and held her up, he was laughing too. _

_I start to wonder… if you'll come back…_

She is where you fail, Ichijouji, she is what you cannot have, and therefore want. _Then something else came to him: _Miyako seems interested in me, and Izzy, so I guess that's possible…_ He transferred his gaze to the long, purple-haired girl. She was walking beside Izzy himself, deep in conversation and debate about something. _

"_It's interesting, isn't it?" Davis asked no one in particular. "That when you realize you can't have something, or that someone doesn't want you, you don't let go; and want it all the more." _

_Ken stared at the other boy. _I think that's the most philosophical thing I've ever heard him say. _"Yes, strange how that works. I guess that's one thing that the advance of technology won't fix."_

The memory ended as Ken climbed onto the crowded subway train, he was pressed against on all sides by other people with an equally small amount of room. _I can't wait to get off this thing. _He stayed standing as he was the full duration of the ride, numb, confused, hurt.

When his stop came, he pushed his way off the train and gratefully strode out onto the sidewalk. It was properly dark out, and the clouds were threatening to rain again. In the distance, he heard a roll of thunder boom across the city. _So what do I do? _

_I feel the rain storming after thunder…_

_T.K. asked me to look after her, but how am I supposed to know how far that goes? He's the one who got us out of there, he's what really saved us… _He side-stepped a pile of some vile smelling substance on the sidewalk, ignoring the other people moving around him with somewhere to be. _I'd love to go out with her, I'd love to hug her goodnight and take her to the next school dance, but she's a wreck right now, and he was an incredible friend to me…_

_---_

Matt had gone to rehearsal, he'd showered, eaten, sung; and now all he wanted was to go to sleep again. _To sleep forever would be a blessing… _he thought to himself. As he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, to try to make himself fall back into a routine, his eyes caught the bottle of pills on the counter. It was a prescription his roommate had been given as an anti-depressant, innocent looking little white bottle. _You're being stupid Matt, it's like standing at the edge of a bridge and wondering what it would be like to fall. _More restless then before, he padded out of he bathroom and threw himself onto his bed, still fully clothed. _I'm so sick of this, it's like I couldn't laugh if I wanted to. _He rolled over, avoiding thinking of anything at all as he slipped into sleep.

_Matt… stop it… _came a soft voice, it was strained, sad.

He was confused. _What? I haven't done anything…_

The voice gave off a feeling like it had nodded. _You're hurting yourself… _

_No, I'm not… _He replied dryly, recognizing the voice finally. _You hurt me, you left…_

_I didn't have a choice, and I'm sorry…_

_How can you be sorry?! _He cried, suddenly angry. _You left! You were fine and then things got complicated and you flew the coop! You bastard! Don't you know how much you've hurt everyone?!_

The younger boy was silent, regret and sadness hitting his older brother like a tidal wave. _Just don't do anything dumb… I can't fix it, but… I'm sorry… I miss your laugh…_

When Matt woke up he was covered in sweat, his eyes large and scared. "T.K…" He breathed. It was 6:30 am, and he needed to go to school.

_I can't hold back… don't leave me…_

Kari's anger had flickered out, but as she replayed her afternoon in her mind, she found herself feeling better. _I'm almost luckier then anyone else who's lost a loved one, I got to see him again, twice. _She'd given up on being angry, it was out of character, it didn't solve anything, it wasn't helping. _He even asked Ken to look after me, how many girlfriends have a boyfriend like I do? No, like I did… _She waited for the sadness to come, and was slightly ashamed when she realized it wasn't on its way at all. _What…?_

Across town from Kari's figure, sitting perfectly still in her room, Matt began to breath normally. _That's it then, isn't it? _He let a small, amused smirk lay itself on his face. _I think… I think I need to go do something… _he shook his head slowly,_ I think I need to laugh…_

_---_

The next day was Thursday, and Kari surprised her entire family by appearing for breakfast that morning, and then picking up her discarded and sand-filled backpack form her room before going to school. _I think maybe now, everything will start to work out. Sunday night feels like it happened an age ago, and… I think my social project is due on Friday…_

_I'll go for miles… till I've found you…_

Tai was over his stupidity of last night, he'd come to the conclusion that he would apologize to the three younger kids, and then he'd go talk to Matt. By the end of his morning classes, he'd accomplished both tasks; his apologies had been accepted, and Matt seemed to be well on his way to becoming his normal self again. _Maybe all we really needed was something like that to shock us out of our sadness… _he contemplated on his walk to the cafeteria. _Maybe… I'll call Matt, we can grab Sora and the others and… do something. Maybe then, everyone'll feel better…_

As he was thinking these thoughts, he bumped into someone and knocked them to the ground. He came abruptly out of his thoughts. "Sorry! I didn't mean to, let me help you grab your stuff…" He trailed off once he realized it was Sora he'd knocked over.

"Taichi Yagami, do you ever go anywhere at the normal speed?" She teased him, picking up her bag and the tennis racquet in its case she'd been carrying.

"Ahm… I don't think so…" He grinned, she rolled her eyes. "Hey, do you want to get together with the rest of the older kids and play soccer or something tonight?"

She brightened. "Sure! I just have to eat dinner and drop off my stuff."

He smiled. "Great! At the park? In the central field?"

She nodded. "Sounds good, I'll see you then." They hugged tightly, Tai grinning into her shoulder, _she smells so good…_ "Bye then."

"Bye."

---

Miyako caught her first glimpse of Kari at lunch, as she was walking in the direction of her locker. "Kari! Hikari! Wait up!" She called over the heads of other students.

Her friend turned around. "What? Oh, hey Miya, what is it?"

Miyako stopped dead when she heard the tone of voice Kari had used, she had sounded… happy, and normal, and very pleased to see her. "I was wondering where you were going to eat lunch today," She finally managed to say, her eyes wide behind her glasses.

Kari thought a minute. "How about outside, it's a nice day." Miyako nodded. "Maybe… the goal posts? At the west end of the field."

Miyako nodded. "Ok, I'll see you there." After Kari had nodded her acknowledgement, Miyako turned, still stupefied, and went to her locker. _Talk about real acceptance, I hope she's really ok…_

---

Izzy was walking purposefully with his briefcase in hand towards the jr. High that the younger digidestined were attending. _I'm on my way… from misery to happiness indeed… uh huh, uh huh, uh huh, uh huh.. I'm on my way…_ He'd had that song stuck in his head since he'd left the sr. High section of the school. _I think perhaps that may make me certifiably insane. _

As he started across the field towards the main doors, he spotted a familiar girl with long purple hair making her way towards on of the soccer goal posts. _Well, that makes finding her easy. _"Miya!" He called, catching her attention. "Over here!" Her expression broke into a grin, and the pair met at roughly the center of the field.

"Hi Izzy," She smiled again. "How're you doing?"

Now that he was in front of her, actually talking to her, he was incredibly nervous. He pulled at the white collar of his uniform. "Good, good. How's Kari doing?"

Miyako's brow wrinkled in thought. "She seems, a lot better today. Which is really weird because Sunday wasn't very long ago at all. Mind you, a lot has happened since then too, it feels like ages ago."

Izzy didn't ask, he knew if he stalled much longer he'd lose his nerve completely. "Well, I hope that things have started to work out." There was a silence, neither of them really knowing what to say. "Right, Miyako… " Izzy started, "… have you got anything you're doing Friday?" He was biting his tongue in his mouth, working not to start fidgeting.

She looked off into space for a minute. "Nope. Why?" For some odd reason her stomach became unusually light, she was worried for a moment that she'd be sick.

He looked at his shoes. "I… was wondering if maybe you'd like to go see a movie… and have dinner… with me…" As he finished he tried to look at her again, meeting her eyes hesitantly.

_You say you want to leave me… but you can't choose…_

She smiled. "I'd love to." _That was… so amazingly perfect! _She cried silently, _I can't believe that just happened! This is incredible!_

"Really?" Izzy's voice cracked in surprise.

"Haha! Yes, yes I would."

---

Kari sat down on the grass by the white goal post, Miyako was talking to Izzy a little ways off, but Ken was ay the goal posts. She watched him fight with his juice box as she unzipped her own lunch bag. He was still having trouble when she had pulled out and un-wrapped her sandwich. "Would you like some help Ken?"

His head snapped up to look at her. "… fine…" He gave in and passed her the offending object. Hardly a minute later, she passed it back; straw inserted into the little hole on top, the plastic still attached to the outside. He stared at it. "Um… thanks…"

She smiled. "Don't worry about it." A comfortable silence followed, each chewing their lunch until Ken stopped and just watched her for a while. Kari's glance shifted from side-to-side. "What? What do I have food on me or something?" She brushed a few bread crumbs off her jeans.

"No, nothing's wrong… do you mind if I ask you a question though?"

Her head tilted to the side. "Ok, go for it."

He thought a little about how he was going to phrase it. "What exactly do you think T.K. meant when he said: 'watch her, look after her'?"

He sat quietly while she thought, patient and polite. "I think…" She began. "I think he trusted you, a lot, more then most people. He thought you were responsible and dependable, he could rely on you I suppose…" She shook her head. "I guess I really don't know, unless there's something you can say to shed any light."

Ken looked at his food pensively. _It's hardly been 3 days Ken, you should leave it. She won't go out with Davis, and you'll always have your chance in a few months…_

_I've gone through pain… every day and night…_

_Is he going to do what I think he is? _She watched his face mirror whatever it was that was going through his mind. _What would I say if he did?! _She panicked slightly, bombarding herself with questions. _He's certainly nice enough… T.K… not now… not so close after – just, after… _

_I feel my mind is going insane…_

_Wait, Ken. You'd scare her, she's hurting, you're hurting, let it go for now. _"Ok," He managed in a completely normal voice. "Thanks."

Kari nodded, looking a little worried. A look that evaporated as Davis dropped himself in beside her. "Hey Kari, Ken." He nodded to both of them. They smiled back obligatorily, Kari chancing another glance at Ken. _I really hope he's alright. _They couldn't have known it, but when Ken caught her looking at him, he thought to himself: _I'll be ok, patience is a virtue, and I can wait until she feels better. Until more time has passed. _

He smiled at her while Davis started his narrative on how he'd been wrongly accused of something by his science teacher. _I'll wait…_

_Something I can't fight… don't leave me_

3 months later, Ken did ask Kari out, and she accepted with a smile. Davis was in complete shock, and wouldn't talk to Ken for a week afterwards. Miyako and Izzy were going steady, planning at some point to get Sora in on a plan to do something amusing to Tai; what exactly? They didn't know yet.

Overall, things were going well for the digidestined, and despite the fact that Kari seemed to have two digimon tagging after her in the digital world, they were healing.

---

s/k: Wow, alright I've finished, for real this time. The song used last chapter was 'Hazard to myself' by Pink, and this chapter is 'Don't leave me' by Green Day.

There's a sort-of sequel titled _Tamers Game_, but as the name suggests, it doesn't really involve the 02 kids. As for that little sphere Ken threw into the forest? It was the remnants of his dark spore, and it is what the dark ocean fostered to create the subtle, unfriendly enemy that's not really a digimon at all. So his 'back-up' was not something he planned, but the dark spores intentions feeding off the knowledge it gained while within him. I hope that answers any questions you had Forlorn Melody


End file.
